Page 44 of When It Reins
Side stage, we are waiting for Felicity’s set to start, which is the final act of the night given that she is a much bigger star. Heroes of Tomorrow had just finished their set, and we are backstage talking to them when Felicity runs to me, her new manager in tow.
“Junie! Sing with me tonight.” She grabs my hands and watches me excitedly.
“Sing with you?” I ask, those pesky nerves finding me again.
“Just a song or two! Come on, we can do that duet we worked on last session.”
I blink, my eyes widening at the prospect.
“Of course she will,” Mitch answers from behind me.
I turn. “I don’t know. This is bigger than singing alone.”
“Come on. We do great at the festival. This is no different.” Felicity shakes my arms a bit. She grins eagerly at me, making me realize that this girl would have done wonders as an older sister, but I’m grateful for how much she seems to care about me now.
I laugh and nod my head. “Okay.”
“Yay!” She claps her hands and turns to her manager, Ted. “See, I told you she would.”
“You were right. Listen, Juniper,” he says, getting my attention. “The label was really impressed with your set. Make sure you answer any unknown numbers.”
I feel my jaw fall slightly and nod my head, half-numb to what he was saying. “Okay.”
He smiles at me and shakes my hand, then Mitch’s. “I have a feeling they like the both of you.”
Shock fills my core, and I vaguely recognize Felicity getting ready to head on stage, the dimming of the lights, the roar of the crowd, the opening notes to her first song.
A hand grabs mine, hesitantly at first and then firmly until Mitch turns me around, placing a hand on my cheek to get my attention.
“You good, Starling?”
I nod my head, my mouth stretching into a grin as all the news from the day floods me. “They’re interested in us.”
“In you,” he responds, his eyes roaming over my face. The look he’s giving me isn’t like any he’s ever given me before, and I want to sit and bask in the sight of it. “You blew them away.”
“I had help. From you, from Felicity, her band. None of this was just me,” I reply, my eyes dragging down to his lips.
I want to throw caution to the wind with him, right here, right now. I want to not worry about the aftermath of what could happen if I am the one to take another first step, to show this man that I am still interested, that I ammorethan interested. That I think our souls are quite possibly connected in a way neither of us has ever experienced.
After our little conversation in the green room, I am convinced he feels that way too.
Mitch is more than I ever expected, and I like every single thing about him.
He is strong, smart, skilled, protective, and loyal. He is a man who wouldn’t leave town until he was sure his family would be safe. He is selfless, and his family has no idea. He is a man, that despite being gone from his hometown for a decade, he still came home and honored the deal he made with the MC.
He is everything I never knew I needed in my life.
“Mitch—”
“Now, please give it up once again for Juniper Weaver!” I blink in surprise and turn my head, seeing Felicity wave me on stage excitedly.
I turn back to Mitch and smile, my mind more than made up, and pat his chest. “Hold that thought.”
He smiles quizzically at me, giving me another glimpse of the man who is hiding under the rough exterior.
I am determined to be the woman who breaks through that, who claims the man inside and shows him what he doesn’t think, that he was and is a good man.
Felicity and I launch into our song, smiling widely at the crowd, feeding off each other’s energy. The crowd is much rowdier with Felicity than with me, but I still have the time of my life.
